Floor covering



April 3, 1928. 1,664,589

N. L. CAMPBELL FLOOR COVERING Filed March 29, 1926 C GwKJVihNTOR.

Patente'a Apr. 3, 1928.

" UNITED STATES ATENT T OFFICE.

' NEIL L. CAMPBELL, OF GLENDALE, OHIO, ASSIGNOB, BY IESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

GAB'IHAGB HILLS INCORPORATED, OF CINCDN'NATI, OHIO, A. CORPORATION Ol' OHIO.

noon covname.

My invention relates tothe production of floor coverings, such as rugs, runners and in which the to carpets, on an asphalt saturated felt base, or other similar inexpensive and strong base. It is my object to provide a floor covering or wear surface has the characteristics o textile material, in that it is soft, and presents, a coherent resilient body in which the fibrous material forms the a iece of textile fabric is completely emupon an oven treatment be ded in an asphaltic or other ituminous vor resinous coating which serves to secure it to a saturated felt .base, so as to form asurface which bears a fabric imprint, on which a design is painted.

According to my process I proceed in the formation of a wear surface on the usual asphalt saturated felt base, by first imprint-- ing upon the felt base, a substance which through long practice has been developed to have very tight adherence thereto, and a very hard, but resilient quality over a long period of time: to wit, floor coating paint. I

By floor coatin paint, I refer to that nature of paint w 'ch has for many years been applied to a halt base and linoleum bases, upon the dried surface of which is printed a pattern or design by means of suitable printing apparatus ,or by hand.

The designs are also printed with paint of the same or similar nature. This aint is characterized by the inclusion of po ymerizing substances such as China-wood oil which 'ves the paint a very hard, but resilientc aracteristlc, providing a long lasting surface highly inert to chemical action and heat.

I apply to-a piece of asphalt saturated felt or other floor covering'a surface .of

coating paint ,which is then brought to the thickened condition by partial dryin or the paint is givenan initial thick y and tackiness arising from cutting down the linseed oil content, and using quick dryers and a large proportion of pigments and other substances known to the painters art to give a thick body. While the paint is tacky, a piece of such fabric as may be desire is rolled down onto the stic paint surface.

Due to the skill acquire 1n the trade over many years in getting a full bodied, tightly adherent and uniform coat of coatingpaint on a piece of felt or linoleum floor covering, it is a matter of vselection between various methods known to composition flooring makers, to provide a body of paint onto which the 'fabricma be pressed, which paint is in the condition described.

Thus the paint can readil be given enough body, either by artial drying or by using a thick and quic drying paint to begin with and at once applying the fabric, so that it will not penetrate through to the surface of the fabric, but will penetrate far enough to incorporate the lower surface thereof into the paint, and this is what is done by me. I

After the fabric has been a plied and the product has been baked an tempered in the usual oven, the fabric will be found to be permanently and tightly bound to the base, by a resilient, hard, long wearing body,

\which has a very tightandcom lete bond,

both with the felt base and the fa ric.

As a fabric I prefer to employ one which has a wooly quality, because its thickness will enhance the softness of the final prod- 'uct. Also a closely woven or a full nappe d fabric, will find more places of contact with the aint, and be more tightly built into the pro uct.

In the drawin Y Figural is a diagram showing the process. Figure 2 is a perspective of the final product. 7 a p I can use the machines used in making painted, asphalt saturated felt floor coverlugs, and in a typical example proceed with a piece of saturated felt 1 such as is used at presentiniprinting, and first imprint thereon by a ro or preferably by several blocks having the printing surfaces lined to completely cover the felt with imprint, a ground coat 2 of a thick, andalmost gummy' floor ,covering coating paint. This I find to be better than to print a heavy ground coat and let it partially dry. X

Inmy typical process, I then pass the fabric 3 from a roll, onto the painted surface, and passboth the saturated felt and the fabric adhering thereto, beneath one or more rolls 4, which apply pressure and force the fabric'down on the painted surface.

I then move the united body along a table to a printing mechanism, such as is used in printing floorin and may use either paints or dyes in imprinting the fabric with whatever pattern is desired. At 5 I indicate .a printingblock, of which it is customary to use a series.

An alternative process for applying the coating paint, which I have used with success is topass the base sheet of material, through a bath of the paint, and doctor it,

and then apply the wear surface fabric as a previously printed or dyed body, on one side of the base sheet, anda piece of burlap on the other, to serve as a back.

I place particular importance on the fact that the processing to make floor coverings of my invention demands the learning of no new procedure in practicing it, as might be the case withglue or other agents. Floor coating paints in the floor covering industry are well known. They have qualities of 3 inertness to heat and chemicals, resilience,

long wearing under the strains attendant upon floor coverings, and the application thereof to sheets of suitable base material are well known. t Most important, also is their quality of tempering in an oven so as to become very tough.

The nature of the base sheet is not necessarily particularized. I have mentioned asphalt saturated felt because it has well known wearing qualities and is not pervious to moisture, and thus will lie flat when exposed for use. 'Thus unsaturated or artly saturated felts, roofing felts and the li e can be used, or other inexpensive sheets of fabric or felted composition.

. I may or may not print the fabric after it ls'applied, and one of the advantages of the use of coating paint, lies in the fact that it is simple to give it a thick enough body so that it will embed the-back of'a piece of textile fabric, but not come throughto the wear surface thereof, thereby avolding the necessity of a subsequent printing.

Finally, while it might appear that'rubber compositions, asphalts, glues and the like would serve insteadof a ground coat of palnt, for my purpose, as an adhesive body,

still this is. not the case, since a rug carpet or runn er becomes soiled and has to be cleaned, and the usual cleansing agents will soften asphalt, 'orrubber cement, andoften other types of cementing coatings, and the cementing agent will then run through and stain or stiffen the wear surface. Also, if

asphalt saturated felt is used as a base, it is j necessary to have a protection over its surface to prevent cleansing agents from br1ng ing the saturant to the Wear surface. Coats ing paint has a known quality of imparting such a protection, and furthermore, when it is oven tempered it has the quality. of long resistance to wear, and is tough, impervious to most of chemicals, which would 'not destroy the entire product, and stays permanently in its original condition.

To continue with the process, the material,

when the fabric has been applied to one or both sides and after it has been passed between rolls to embed the fabric, is then passed into an oven, where heat is applied to harden and temper the coatin The final product may be cut into 6,-

if the wearsurface fabric is so printed as to permit this, or carpet strips or runners may be formed therefrom."-

' I make no specification 'of any additional treatments such as binding, stitching or the J like, as these may or may not be used, with; out departing from my invention;

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-' teis Patent, is

1. A floor covering comprising a sheet of I ther f.

3. A floor covering comprising a base of asphalt saturated felt, a coat of floor covering coating paint, "as in aground coat on,

paint penetrating to said felt, and a textile'fabric embedded into the paint with none of said paint penetrating to the upper surface. thereof.

4. A floor covering comprising a sheet of material as a b'ase,a coat of paint which has been/oven treated and rendered hard, and a textile material embedded "into. the paint,

with none of said paint penetrating to the upper surface thereof, and a desl printed upon the said textile fabric.

5. A floor covering comprising a sheet of material asa base, a coat of oven treated floor covering paint thereon, and a. textile material embedded into the paint, with'none of the said paint penetrating to the upper surface thereof, and a deslgn imprintedupon the said textile fabric.

gn im 6. A floor covering comprising a. base of which consists in flexible base matemal with paint, WhlCh is or becomes thick and tenacious and then up plying thereto a strip of textile material,

asphalt saturated ,felt, a coat of oven treated floor coverin paint, as in a groundcoat on said felt, an a textile fabric embedded into the paint with none of said paint penetrating to the upper surface thereof, and a design imprinted upon the said textile fabric.

7. A process of forming floor coverin ound coatmg a 'plece 0' rolling said material into the paint; and finally oven treatin the product;

8'. A process of orming floor coverin which consists in ground coating a piece 0 asphalt saturated felt with paint, which is or becomes thick and tenacious and then applying thereto a strip of textile material, rolling said material into the paint, and finally tempering the product in an oven.

NEIIf-L. CAMPBELL. 

